1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for moveable lighting of relatively large areas, and more particularly, lighting that is portable in the sense that it can be transported from site to site and assembled, moved, and disassembled at each site with permanent anchoring or construction in the ground.
2. Problems in the Art
There are many examples of situations where temporary lighting on a large scale is needed or desired. A primary example is construction projects. Night time work is many times desirable because it reduces conflict with day time events such as traffic and normal daytime operations. The expense of construction and maintenance operations also dictates a cost efficiency in having around-the-clock availability to the work site.
Many times the installation of permanent lighting is not feasible or practical. For example, after a construction or maintenance is completed, lighting may not be necessary. It could even be obstructive.
A specific example of the need for temporary lighting involves roadway or highway construction projects. Traffic is usually reduced during the nighttime hours making it easier for construction vehicles and personnel to move about the construction site and increasing safety for the workers. It also allows a more full-scale occupation of the construction site which would otherwise block or slow down traffic.
Conventional ways of lighting such sites would be either the installation of permanent or semi-permanent lighting on light poles that would elevate lighting fixtures to light a wide area, or temporary lighting systems. The temporary lighting systems tend to involve self-powered lighting fixtures on trailers. The fixtures are suspended several feet in the air, and are fairly easily moveable from location to location. Other types of temporary lighting include towers that are used to elevate light fixtures. The towers may elevate the lights higher than the portable trailers, but still they rarely exceed twenty-five feet in height. Trailer based systems also do not generally exceed twenty-five feet in height. Trucks with extendible lights such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,712,167 and 5,207,747 are too expensive and not practical for such uses.
The problems and deficiencies with the state of the art include the following. The several feet in height portable trailer based systems limit the area that can be lighted because of the low level the lights can be elevated. Although quick to assemble and move, they lack the ability to light large areas and also can cause glare because of their relatively shallow projection of light, which presents problems both for workers and traffic. Towers, on the other hand, might elevate lights somewhat higher for larger coverage, but require a significant amount of labor, time and resources to construct. The same is true to disassemble them and move them to a new location. They still are not to a sufficient height that they can flexibly light large areas, like permanent light poles, and thus still present glare and safety problems because of the angle of light that they project.
Both the trailer based systems and the temporary towers are also relatively expensive because of the need for them to be transported and quickly moved from location to location. Neither of these systems is that easy to transport. Each trailer requires a separate vehicle to move them from place to place. The towers must be assembled and disassembled by pieces. Also the flexibility with regard to these types systems is limited.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for moveable lighting which improves over or solves the problems and deficiencies in the art.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are as follows:
a. relatively high elevation of lights so that one light or an array of lights can illuminate a larger area with diminished glare and safety problems; PA1 b. relative ease in changing the locations of the lights; PA1 c. a minimum amount of assembly; PA1 d. convenient transportation and storage; and PA1 e. flexibility in the control of lighting of the area to be lighted, including remote control of aiming and beam characteristics.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent with reference to the accompanying specification and claims.